Press Herald interviews Mech, Daigneault on budworm research
The Portland Press Herald interviewed Angela Mech, assistant professor of forest entomology at the University of Maine, and Adam Daigneault, director of the School of Forest Resources, on the effect of spruce budworms on Maine’s forests. Mech heads a testing lab at UMaine that helps landowners monitor and respond to the presence of budworm larvae on tree branches. Seven or more cocoons per branch mean the tree is at risk of defoliation in the spring if not treated. Daigneault talked about how outbreaks of budworm in spruce-fir forests can reduce the amount of carbon dioxide being absorbed from the atmosphere by 5%-16%, depending on the severity.